It’s kind of a fun time for two girls from the Santa Barbara Middle School teen press when they get to interview Paul Thomas Anderson. Considering that one of them states that she wants to be a filmmaker it’s a very fortuitous meeting for both of them. A lot of kids wouldn’t even know who Paul Thomas Anderson is let alone what he does. These two however are definitely dedicated to the idea of interviewing Anderson just to pick his brain a little and find out why he decided to make movies. For the most part it’s obvious that Anderson doesn’t mind being stopped to answer a few questions which is pretty cool.
You can see by the end of the interview that he’s ready to go, but it’s more to the point that the girls seem to be out of questions and he just needs to be moving on. It’s not so much that he’s trying to be rude, but if you can see it really looks like they couldn’t think of anything else to ask. That they knew who he was is kind of impressive but that they questions that piqued his interest was even better. Directors and filmmakers don’t always like to talk about the reasons for which they got into their craft but when they do it’s a treat that allows other people to see just what it takes and why it might be a good idea to at least try to get into film making. What they don’t often tell you is how hard it’s going to be, but then that’s something each person needs to figure out on their own.
To be quite honest I would liken film making to writing in many regards since there is a chance to make money doing both. But if you want it badly enough you’re going to work for it, you might even suffer for it, and you will likely go broke for it for a time. The type of career that Anderson has is not something that grows overnight. Even after many years of practicing and honing the skills needed to bring a film to life, much like a writer, a director will be walking on pins and needles once they’re done, hoping that people fall in love with what they’ve delivered. The idea of rejection is always in the forefront of any creator’s mind, that nagging feeling that someone won’t like it and will create a ripple effect that will be felt by many upon many others. It’s horrible to think of and even worse to truly subscribe to because in a sense it defeats a person before they even get to find out just what others think.
Those that make it to such a level as Anderson are the lucky ones, but they’re also the hardest working and most ambitious. They give everything and keep going even if they fall on their face. They continue to give whatever they can in order to succeed, which is in fact the lesson. If you want to reach the heights then you’ve got to let go of everything that’s holding you back.
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